Biodiversity offsets - it might not mean anything to you, but the Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute is hoping that Belize will adopt it when entrepreneurs come here looking to invest.
It's a principle of planning where the Government Officials try their best to encourage development, but impressing upon investors that certain projects are harmful to the biodiversity in different ecosystems.
The CZMAI has been working with the Australia-Caribbean Coral Reef Collaboration to develop an offset strategy. Today, the organizers held a workshop to include stakeholder partners from the Private Sector, and we stopped by. Here's how they explained the principle to us:
Vincent Gillett, C.E.O., CZMAI
"The goal of the workshop is to create conditions which will allow development and conservation ideals to work together without conflict or serious conflict."
Daniel Ortiz
"Give us an example of where there is symbiosis between the two."
Vincent Gillett, C.E.O., CZMAI
"In Belize within the tourism sector there is need for developers/investors to get their clients, tourists. In some instances they may need to put up infrastructure, hotels to accommodate their clients. the question is where would you put that particular structure, how you would build it and in deed if you are think of putting it on the coast, whether that is going to have some impact upon the very resources or the very areas that you want your tourists to see. Now clearly it would be unwise for you to change to change to alter significantly and eco-system or a habitat. That would have some deleterious impact upon the reef system which is to say would have some impact upon the coral reefs or the fish indeed the share beauty of that particular environment that the tourist wants to look."
The CZMAI hopes to convene an awareness workshop with policy makers and the private sector in the near future.
Email
Print